List, Last week I got called to evaluate and afix a price range to a 1950 S&S S that will be sold to a relative. I don't like appraisals and evals, don't do it very often, and I avoid it whenever possible. But I consented. Foolish me. I asked when the piano was last tuned, and the owner replied "It's been tuned twice, but it will probably need it again sometime." I should say so :-) So, in full trepidation mode, I took Newton's eval list with me (Thanks Newton, it's very systematic and works well) and got to work noticing and notating things. When I got to the 'crown' part, I couldn't find any string in my case to check it so I moved on. There were many long wide cracks, some dime-worthy, in the soundboard, one running under most of the bridge, and with my simple rocker gauge, I could detect absolutely no bearing anywhere. Well, maybe a teeny bit in the bass. Truthfully, no bearing, zero, zip. The piano was about 70 cents flat (average) and I didn't think adding more tension would help the downbearing situation much. The unisons I tuned to check tone sounded lifeless, with little sustain. The almost unplayed 1950 hammers looked great and the action, with a little regulation, seemed very serviceable, meaning no verdigris. As an afterthought, I went out to the van, got some string, and checked the crown. Surprise, surprise. I think one would be happy to see this much crown on a new board! There was at least 1/8" in any of the long sections, and discernible crown all the way up into the short rib treble. What the heck?? Did it have 3/8" before it died to this point 30 years ago?? I was shocked to see any. I'm not real experienced in this. The crown did look like it originated at the rim, meaning 6 or so inches in from the rim, crown was 1/8" and stayed fairly even until 6 inches from the other end. Does this make sense? I know the inner rim is angled, but would this explain this amount of crown on this otherwise dead board? Any comments? The piano needs everything accept a new action ;-) which significantly lowers its value, but anybody want to throw out a dollar amount. I'm thinking about $6k or so. Thanks, Ken Jankura RPT Newburg, PA
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